Go With the Flow by Jane Davitt

Stressed and exhausted, Paul’s not too happy about being pushed into taking a yoga class by his sister, but the instructor, Rob, is hot enough to change his mind. When he falls asleep at the end of the session, he thinks he’s blown it and wants to leave, but Rob’s got other ideas.

Review:

This is one of those blurbs that makes the story sound rather more erotic than it really is, but I wasn’t disappointed by the way things turned out. Jane Davitt is a new-to-me author, but one I definitely intend to check out in future as she’s done a great job with this short story.

Paul is our point of view character and the story all takes place over the evening (and following morning) of his first yoga class. We are treated to a brief and amusing flashback of how his sister tricked him into attending before bailing out at the last moment, leaving Paul feeling incredibly awkward among all the women who make up the class. The details in this section really made it all spring to life, such as Paul’s embarrassment at having brought with him a plastic multi-pack water bottle rather than a reusable, environmentally-friendly one.

Once Rob the instructor makes his appearance, the attraction is immediate, but Paul is too tired to get turned on by Rob’s touch. I loved the way Davitt balanced Paul’s discomfort and cynicism about yoga with little flashes of awakening as he allowed himself to begin to unwind. There was also a light tease about a possible submissive streak in Paul:

“Relax,” Rob murmured. “Every muscle. Relax. Don’t fight it.”

It was an order. The friendliest one Paul had ever had, but an order nonetheless. Something in him greeted it like dry earth meeting rain. He absorbed, accepted, obeyed. The discomfort lessened as he stopped struggling and for a few moments, he felt at peace.

I loved the way Davitt worked this gentle eroticism into the fabric of the story without ever making it overt, allowing the characters to shine through and keeping the focus on Paul’s spiritual journey – not that he’d thank you for calling it that! Paul freely admits to having a competitive, driven streak and he’s horribly stressed, for reasons that become apparent later, after he wakes up from his yoga-induced sleep on the floor of the studio.

In this second half of the story we find out much more about what has led Paul to his current dilemma, and a little more about Rob. Indeed, my only real quibble with this story is that Rob is almost too perfect, and seems to know exactly the right thing to say at every moment. However, this is clearly what Paul needs right now. It’s perhaps a little harder to understand quite what laidback Rob sees in corporate, driven Paul, but Rob explains he was fascinated by Paul’s sister’s description of him, as she made him sound so different from anyone else he knew.

This story felt like it should finish with a sex scene, but it ends up being more of a tease. However, I wasn’t unduly disappointed as I’d been entertained by the characters and enjoyed watching Paul’s mini-enlightenment unfold, as well as his relationship with Rob get off to a promising start. Go With the Flow is perfectly named as it’s a gentle story, but a warm-hearted and beautifully written one that flows effortlessly. Enjoy.

Me either! I could really sympathise with Paul as I sometimes feel quite out of my depth when around seriously new agey people. It can feel like they’re speaking another language and they automatically seem to assume I believe in all the same things they do!